Paul Sherwen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Sherwen (born in Widnes, Cheshire on 7 June 1956) is an English former professional racing cyclist. He is now a well-known broadcaster on cycling, most notable the Tour de France. He raced in seven editions of the Tour de France, finishing five, and gained something of a reputation for his ability to suffer over long mountain stages.
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[edit] Cycling career
Sherwen's started his sporting career as a swimmer, finishing second in the under-14's Kenyan swimming championship. Upon returning to Britain, he won the regional under-18's swimming championship for Runcorn and District. However, aged 16, he turned to cycling and rode for the Weaver Valley CC in Cheshire, later receiving guidance from Manchester-based coach Harold "H" Nelson.
As he started at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), Sherwen began to achieve major cycling success. Aged 19, and riding for Altrincham Road Club, Sherwen won the season-long Star Trophy series in 1976, winning the Manx international and the Pernod GP on the way, and two stages in the Tour of Malago.
A year later, he won the Folkstone-London (in horrific conditions, but attacking from the gun), and, riding for leading French team ACBB (Athletic Club Boulogne Billancourt) won the Paris-Barentin, Paris-Mauberge and the Tour de l'Essone, was third in the Paris-Roubaix (amateur) and finished second in the British national championships. Despite only spending part of the year in France due to university examinations, he still came second in the season-long Palme d'Or competition. 1977 also saw him ride the World Championships in Venezuela, the pro-am Etoile des Espoirs and the Scottish Milk Race.
In 1978 he turned professional for the newly-formed FIAT professional team under the guidance of Rapheal Geminiani, and, later, rode as a domestique in the La Redoute cycling team.
He finished 70th overall in the 1978 Tour de France. In 1979, Sherwen came close to being eliminated on the third stage of the Tour de France. He finished outside the cut-off time (calculated as a percentage of the stage winner’s time), but was reinstated in view of his hard solo chase after suffering a crash. The reinstatement simply delayed a later abandonment, and he was to repeat the process all over again six years later.
As well as riding the major tours, Sherwen raced in many of the Classic cycle races of the European season, and when released from team duties was capable of high finishing places. He was 20th and 11th in Milan-Sanremo in 1979 and 1980 respectively, finished third in the Tour du Haut-Var, won by Seán Kelly, in 1982, and was second in the 4 Jours De Dunkerque stage race in 1983. He also grabbed a win in the Grand Prix de Denain that year.
Back in the Tour de France, Sherwen finished 111th in 1982 and 116th in 1984. During the last mountain stage of the 1984 tour, he again diced with the cut-off time. Riding with Australian cyclist Allan Peiper towards the summit at La Plagne, Peiper was knocked from his bike by a Dutch cycling enthusiast and came close to punching the Dutchman. Sherwen – aware of the fast approaching cut-off point – told him to get back on his bike, and after a frantic final kilometre they crossed the line just inside the time limit.
[edit] 1985 tour
On the first day in the mountains of the 1985 Tour, Sherwen crashed in the first kilometre before the race had even left Epinal. With Bernard Hinault setting a fast pace on the front of the peloton, Sherwen had little chance to regain the shelter of other riders. He rode solo for six hours over six mountains, accompanied by a single motorcycle outrider, and was over an hour behind the stage winner, and 23 minutes outside the cut-off time – indeed the Tour caravan had started its return journey and had to move to one side to allow Sherwen to complete the stage. However, once again, his courage and endurance were rewarded by reinstatement in the Tour – though he might have preferred to have been eliminated, as he later had to abandon the race anyway.
Sherwen retired from professional racing soon after winning the British road race championship in 1987.
[edit] Today
During the Tour de France, Paul broadcasts for OLN and CBS Sports. Paul resides with his family in a small town on the Ugandan/Kenyan border in a small town called Busia, in which he operates a gold mine.[1]
Paul often speaks of the "suitcase of courage".
